Footage has emerged showing the public executions of three men accused of being Israeli collaborators in Gaza City.
BBC Verify has verified that the location of the executions was a street outside Shifa hospital in the centre of the city, which is the focus of a major Israeli ground offensive.
Videos circulating on Sunday evening showed at least five armed and masked men, three blindfolded Palestinian men kneeling on the ground and a large crowd.
One of the armed men is heard saying: The death sentence has been decided for all collaborators.
There are cheers before the three men are pushed to the ground and shot several times in the back of the head. The crowd then praises Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.
A Palestinian security official from the Hamas-run Gaza government told Reuters that the executions were carried out by the Joint Operations Room of the Palestinian resistance.
This is a rare instance in which a public execution in Gaza has been captured on video. Previous reports indicate that Hamas has used violence against its dissenters. In May, four Palestinians were reportedly executed for looting aid trucks.
In the footage from Sunday, one of the armed men identifies Yasser Abu Shabab as a major collaborator they seek to kill.
Abu Shabab is a significant figure from a clan reportedly armed by the Israeli government, positioned in Rafah. This clan has positioned itself as an opponent to Hamas.
In July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the arming of clans opposing Hamas within Gaza. However, Abu Shabab rejected claims of his group's association with Israeli arms.
UN officials describe the humanitarian situation in Gaza City as cataclysmic, with ongoing military operations causing widespread devastation and displacement.
As of now, clashes continue, with the Israeli military reporting the dismantling of Hamas military infrastructure and ongoing aims to free hostages taken by the group during the intense conflict cycle that began on October 7, 2023.
Since the escalation began, reports indicate over 65,000 casualties in Gaza from Israeli attacks, complicating an already dire humanitarian crisis exacerbated by ongoing military confrontations.
